Chapter 99: The Stronghold

Zheng Yichen observed the man for one whole week. During this time, the man mostly roamed deep within this old forest, often seeking fights with fierce Magical Beasts. He had deliberately picked this spot, so finding powerful Magical Beasts was easy. These beasts were all very strong, and Zheng Yichen never once witnessed the man instantly defeating one.

Each battle left him heavily battered, yet his recovery was impressive. Almost every time he got hurt, he bounced back quickly, then went searching for even stronger prey. In short, all Zheng Yichen saw during this period was fight after fight…

Watching was fun initially, but after many times, it grew dull. So dull that Zheng Yichen started losing interest. Why not just ask him directly? Zheng Yichen decided to meet him tonight. The man only paused his activities and rested during the night.

However, Zheng Yichen didn’t get to see him rest that night. The guy he’d been watching actually targeted a strange, eerie stronghold nestled in the mountains. Places like these were peculiar features of this world. Not everyone living in such remote forests was human. Though they looked human, they belonged to different races.

Zheng Yichen couldn’t yet tell their specific race—there were far too many human-like non-human races. Yet, failing to identify them didn’t stop him from studying their stronghold. Wooden walls stood battered, covered in bloodstains and patches of embedded bone. These bones didn’t belong to beasts. They were human.

Having a high vantage point revealed more. At the stronghold’s center stood a grisly platform, its middle sunken to form a Blood Pool filled with blood that hadn’t yet dried. Hmph. No words needed. Any stronghold of this style was almost certainly linked to the Cults plaguing this world. That blood-soaked Altar was proof enough. Whenever you saw such a place, common sense told you—wipe them out, spare neither young nor old. Absolutely correct!

If others found out, none would call him wrong. In fact, he might even earn a reward. Most rewards came from the Sanctuary Church, backed by nations too. After all, Cults…were like stubborn weeds, always springing back up. Sure, Earth had them, but Earth had no supernatural forces. There, Cults were limited to brainwashing or forming crazed militias, training suicide bombers along the way in passing.

The Otherworld was different. No one knew what bizarre Arcane Arts a new Cult might wield. Using Secret Methods and bloody rituals, they could conjure all sorts of nightmarish abominations. Not only trapping themselves, but dragging countless others down with them. Therefore, any sane nation hated having such troublemakers inside their borders.

Zheng Yichen pulled out a Hand Grenade the size of a human head from his bag. He’d made it based on his own specs, hence the oversized form. Bigger meant more power, obviously. He pondered whether to throw this explosive ahead of the man, directly into the Blood Pool. Though the pool already held one or two bodies dissolving into thick, bloody foam. They weren’t fully melted yet, looking like bloated, rotting corpses, sickening to the eye.

Muttering to himself, Zheng Yichen saw the man clutch his Magic Sword and head silently toward the stronghold. In that moment, Zheng Yichen casually dropped his large grenade downward…

The heavy grenade plummeted freely through the air. At this speed, it should land just as the man reached the gate. Even if he belonged to this place, Zheng Yichen didn’t care much. He’d just charge down and finish them himself.

BOOM—

A frigid torrent of ice exploded outward from the center of the Altar. The initial blast resembled a wave of freezing tide, instantly covering everything nearby. Among those caught were the savages who’d been training around the Altar.

The man—already spotted—saw the icy blast erupt too. Similar to a fiery explosion, but releasing pure ice Elemental Power. Its effect was complete opposites to scorching heat—instead, intense, biting cold and deep freeze. Those savages shrouded in the ice torrent stood no chance, frozen solid inside ice prisons. Only a few, shielded by crimson power suddenly surging from within their bodies, resisted the icy prison.

The man glanced skyward but stayed silent as he began striking. That icy eruption at the stronghold’s core was abrupt, yet perfectly timed. Clearly, someone was watching him. Judging by the attack, this person was currently on his side; otherwise, considering the icy surge with a radius covering dozens of meters, had that fallen on his head, he wouldn’t have survived either!

“Tsk, there went over a hundred gold coins tossed away in one go,” Zheng Yichen remarked aloud, eyeing the dozens of alarmingly lifelike ice sculptures now decorating the stronghold center. The Hand Grenade was an Alchemical Product crafted using Enchanted Material. Since it was a one-time consumable item, considerations like preserving material limits became irrelevant. Maximum destruction at any cost was the only goal—one blast and done, so why fret over tolerances?

Violence exceeding design limits without self-destruction practically honored the ‘one-time use’ label!

Meanwhile, the man launched into a slaughter. In a group fight, his Magic Sword’s Bloodthirst Curse turned its wielder into an efficient killing machine. Each slash absorbed Blood Essence. That essence flowed back into the wielder, restoring lost stamina. However… the Blood Essence converted by the Magic Sword’s Bloodthirst Curse itself carried an inherent trait: it induced extreme bloodlust and savagery. The more he healed through the Sword’s power, the harder resisting its Bloodthirst Curse became.

Relying on Blood Essence for healing inherently meant depending on the curse itself. Worse, this absorption was irreversible. Wielding the Magic Sword meant the curse continuously worked. Without drawing blood, the Sword’s backlash would likely kill its wielder instead. Driven by sheer survival instinct and amplified by Bloodthirst Curse’s violent nature, any failure to resist the Sword’s corrupting influence inevitably shaped a tragic fate trapped like a sword slave.

Empowered by the Cult’s influence, the savages displayed reckless bravery despite the ice blast. Howling wildly, they rushed the man at the gate. Sinister dark blood-red patterns covering their bare torsos glowed faintly with ill omen in the darkness, marking their state of evil fanaticism.

Yet… it proved useless!

The first wave met Apophis’s wide blade. A single sweep sent them flying, sliced clean through their middles. Severed in two, then drained of massive amounts of Blood Essence and eroded by sinister Dark Element power, these formerly brawny savages rapidly shriveled and dried like ancient husks. They slammed down on the ground without bleeding a single drop—every last drop absorbed completely by the Bloodthirst Curse coating the Magic Sword.

Massive Blood Essence devoured in seconds caused Apophis to pulse with a deep, ominously dark red aura. Faint red glinted briefly in the eyes of its bearer, Zheng Yichen. That surge only amplified the Bloodthirst Curse! Yet this man possessed remarkable will. Quick to act, he swiftly suppressed the invasive influence within himself.